Stairway to SEVEN!!

okay, so that was cheesy and kinda dumb for a post title

but I DON'T CARE because:

PITTSBURGH'S
GOIN TO THE
SUPERBOWL!!!

I have been trying really hard to learn the game of football. I've always watched it and was a cheerleader my entire school-age life but I never grasped even the simplest concept in the game. --for example: I'm one of those people who thought the yellow first down line was actually on the field. (I know better now though!)

And now I have for you a bunch of pictures I didn't take but make me smile a LOT:


count 'em 6!!... shootin for 7!



this is from the Post-Gazette --last play of the game

Mike Tomlin.. he's not even 40!

if Brett Michaels likes them, they MUST be good!

Okay, back to work.

Have a good week, lovies!

<3k*

Snow day... or not?

I want to take a brief moment to complain...

I grew up my entire life (until the age of 22... which is pretty much my entire life, given that i'm 23.7 years old now.) in northern West Virginia & I complained almost every day (even in the summers!) about how cold I always was and that I couldn't WAIT to move south and that I never wanted to live in a cold climate ever again!

...so now I live in southwest Georgia. and today is January 20th. and I broke a sweat. OUTSIDE. and I REALLY dislike it. -- don't get me wrong I love my job and I am thankful for it every single day and I would never trade this opportunity for anything --- BUTTT (there's always an ass isn't there?)  ......

I REALLY MISS SNOW.

Canaan Valley, WV.. ahh tubing.

I miss the excitement of waking up and not being able to see the road. And bundling up in 2,342,098,345 layers just to walk the dog. and wearing UGGs everywhere. And sweat shirts. And spraypainting  stupid shit in the snow [penises, etc].

My town here in Georgia got a sprinkling of snow last week & it was quite funny how fast everything shut down...again, I was thankful to get to sleep in for 2 days but it's just not the same.




I'm going to hang this on the window in my house, haha.

 
So tonight I'm going to go home and I'm going to make some hot chocolate and I'm going to turn off the heat and I'm going to sit wrapped up in a blanket on my couch and I'm going to pretend that we're getting 8 glorious inches of snow just like my lovies at home in WV are..



i don't know who's house this is, but i wish i was there.

 Okay, complaining is over.



I think my favorite posts are when i write 4 words and put a period in the middle and call 'em sentences. like this one. That is a true example of how my brain works.

I'm a numbers girl, not a words girl-- hence the reason I got that accounting degree, huh?


LATER TATERS.


<3k*

New Orleans Service Trip

Holla Holla!!

I got home last night from a fantastic 4 days in New Orleans! & let me tell you i had ZERO desire to come to work today-- which might be why I slept in until 8am, rolled into work at 9am, took a long lunch (for new fingernails and gel pens haha) & now I'm blogging. I just can't get back into it!!

All in all this year's trip to NOLA was a success! My group of friends has been going down there since as early as 6 months after Katrina hit the area. & As a group, we've been going for the last 3 years. Every year we go we're still shocked by the things we see and the progress that's not been made in some parts of the city.

photo: realworldhouses.com

I'd say the biggest shock for me this year was the realization of how different parts of the city can be. We went to see the Real World New Orleans house since it was somewhat close to the Hostel we were staying in and I came back surprised to see that there are parts of NO that look like they were never touched by disaster and then there are parts of NO, like the Treme Charter School [where we volunteered] that are still battling Katrina like it was yesterday. It really makes me sad. But at the same time it reminds me why we continue to go to New Orleans every year-- because the JOB ISN'T DONE. These people and that city still needs OUR HELP until things are put back into their places. It's finished for some parts of the city, but in others it's still too early to stop working. There is unbelieveable disarray in huge sections of NO that the government and private and public and so many other entities are giving up on.

But this post really isn't intended to be political or persuasive or anything like that. This is just how it is. I guess my servant heart is speaking to me today :)


Okay Okay-- enough of that mushy, heartbraking, serious stuff!! I haven't uploaded my camera pictures yet but here are some fun DROID pics I snapped this weekend!

 The Joint
This is an AMAZING little BBQ restaurant that my group has now visited twice. They have the BEST smoked macaroni and cheese!!

This is right down the street from The Joint, saw this sign last year and it's just as hilarious in 2011!

This is a mural on the wall in the elementary school we worked in. There were 8 children killed in that school during the last school year.

We spent Sunday wandering around the French Quarter! I got new glasses last week and I'm still trying to get used to the look of them.

& YOU KNOW we had to go waste some money at Harrah's right? haha.

Apart from all the seriousness, we really did have fun! We tutored children. We served snacks. We built a garden. We learned. We saw. We remembered. We praised. We laughed. We ATE and ATE and ATE. We drank. We danced. We sang. We drank some more and then we danced some more. Ohhh & HEY WE FLASHMOBBED BOURBON STREET TOO!! haha. [video will come soon!]

New Orleans 2011 = SUCCESS!

I hope ya'll enjoyed this one, I certainly did! :)

Happy Tuesday!

<3k*

NOLA

I am leaving for New Orleans.



RIGHT NOW!!

See ya later, taters!!

[with photos, of course! :)]

<3k*

Unnecessary Ramblings

I HATE when my socks get twisted between my toes!!

Today's socks have been doing exactly that. All DAY.

I'm pretty close to going crazy.

I could just take off my socks.

But I don't want to.

So I will suffer through my bitch-sock-twisted-between-toes problem until I switch socks at the gym in 23 mintues. If the problem persists sock pair #2, I will cut off my toes. PROMISE. (because removing the socks would be too easy.)



That's all I've got today..


<3k*

Birmingham, AbaLAMa.

No, i didn't spell that incorrectly. That's how we say it. :) AB-A-LAM-A.. much more fun that the normal Alabama. And much more obvious that you're a drunk-out-of-towner when you say it like that too.

We went to Birmingham on Friday night to meet up with one of our best friends from college and to go to the Compass Bowl on Saturday. && Let me tell you-- this weekend was a MESS!!

Pictures tell the best stories & excuse the blurriness-- that just means we had a good time!

my whole heart. <3

a moose & a drunk girl

glad we got ONE picture looking normal.

there's those antlers again.

at the PITT bar with Eddie, I'm not a PITT fan but I'll drink anywhere. haha

normalcy. right here.

i've got the 2 best friends that anyone could have.

Softy. love him.

With Soft-- stupid sunshine ruined a good picture!!

At the PITT bar with Alan & some random dude who wanted in our picture.

Has anyone else been out in Birmingham? I think we got lucky when we ran across Nana Funks downtown. It was the perfect scene for us. A little dancing, a little mingling, and stools! Why is it so hard to come across a barstool these days?!?

This Thursday we're off to New Orleans for some volunteer work and a little Bourbon Street action!! My liver is going to fall out by the end of January.

Our 2010 NOLA volunteer group!

Have a good week everyone!!
<3k*

2010 Recap

Before 2010 I had never...

biked before. I picked up cycling as a part of my triathlon training and now I love it!

done a triathlon. I completed the Aflac Iron Girl as a relay team with my girrrl Lu last year-- but 2011 I'm goin solo! :) fingers crossed!

driven 14 hours alone-- in a blizzard. And probably never will again.

seen a PGA Golf tournament.

drank Landshark. Now it's one of my favorites!

known much about myself. I learned so much about myself as an adult in 2010. I think last year was a turning point.

had ringworm. EW. gross. EW.. don't pass out fall asleep on the sidewalk on Bourbon Street. It's dirty.

fallen off a bike. I spent 6 hours in the ER after a leisurely morning bike ride that ended up with a sprained shoulder and bloody face, arms and ears.

played on a co-ed soccer team. LOVE YO MOMMA!! Summer Champs 2010!!

been to Hilton Head Island, or Savannah Ga. Love them both & can't wait to go back!


okay, that's enough. I'm pretty pleased with myself. :)


<3k*

is this the new norm?

my heart hurts. and all i can do is wait.

fighting to constantly hold back tears. trying to focus on other things.

praying for answers and patience and comfort.

waiting for normacy and the slightest feeling of contentment.

if this is the new norm, i'm going to have to get used to it.